Senior captain Justin Edwards closes his Hoya career at the BIG EAST Championship this weekend.

April 26, 2013

WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University men's golf team heads to Florida this weekend for the 2013 BIG EAST Men's Golf Championship on Sunday, April 28. The BIG EAST Championship will be held on the Watson Course at the Reunion Resort and Club in Orlando, Fla. from Sunday, April 28 to Tuesday, April 30 with one round being played each day.

South Florida is the top ranked team according to Golfstat rankings, and is followed by Louisville, Notre Dame, St. John's and Marquette. The 12 teams competing for the 2013 BIG EAST Championship are Connecticut, Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, South Florida and Villanova.

Last season's champion was Notre Dame with a 12-under 852. Georgetown placed fifth overall after firing a 19-over 883 during the three rounds. The Hoyas won the championship last in 2010.

"We always look forward to BIG EAST Championship weekend - it is the tournament we center our season around," commented Head Men's Golf Coach Tommy Hunter. "The Watson Course at The Reunion Resort is a challenging golf course that rewards good decision making. We have to be patient and be focused on every shot of all three rounds. We hope to improve our scoring in all five positions - a full team effort is very important at this time of the year."

Georgetown's lineup at the championship will consist of two seniors, a sophomore and two freshmen. Seniors Justin Edwards (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake Village) and Curtis Loop (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) will compete for the last time as Hoyas. Sophomore Greg Podufal (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) leads the underclassmen and is joined by first year players Raleigh Chapin (Doylestown, Pa./New Hope Solebury) and Matthew Moosavian (Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles Prep).

The Hoyas best team finish of the spring was a third place showing at the Wildcat Invitational in early April. GU shot a 53-over par 905 and tied for third. In Georgetown's last outing at the Rutherford Intercollegiate the Blue and Gray placed eighth with a 61-over par 913.

For the second consecutive season team captain Edwards will compete at the BIG EAST Championship. Last year he shot a 20-over par 236 to place 52nd. This season Edwards has played 21 rounds for Georgetown and averaged 76.4 strokes per round. He has two top 20 finishes and a season low three round total of 222 at the Golfweek Program Challenge.

Also suiting up for his second straight BIG EAST Championship is sophomore Podufal. Last season Podufal tied for 26th with an 8-over par 224. This year he has played in all nine competitions and had a season best finish at the Wildcat Invitational tying for third. Podufal had two other top-15 finishes during the year. He leads the Hoyas in rounds counted with 22 and has averaged 74.4 strokes per round.

This will be Loop's second championship, participating in 2011. Loop has two top 25 finishes this year, with his best finish coming at the Rutherford Intercollegiate when he tied for 22nd with a 13-over par 226. He has played 20 rounds with a 74.9 stroke average.

Of the two freshmen competing for GU, Chapin has the most experience, playing in seven competitions. Chapin has 18 rounds under his belt and averaged 76.6 strokes per round. Fellow first year player Moosavian broke into the lineup last week at the Rutherford Intercollegiate where he shot a team best 10-over par 223 and tied for 10th.

The teams will play a practice round on Saturday, April 27. The competition begins on Sunday with Georgetown teeing off at 8 a.m. alongside Rutgers and Seton Hall. Team standings will determine tee times over the final two rounds. For all the latest information on the BIG EAST Men's Golf Championship visit: